Brick-kiln



(No Mod 1.) v e Pl L. YOUNGREN 3 Sheets Shet 2.

BMGK KILN.

No. 556,295. Patented Mar. 10,'1896.

PeZzrl/Omzgren/ 3 Sheeizs---Slleetv 3. P. Lf YOUNGREN.

. BRICK KILN.

No. 556,295.. PatentedMai. 10A, 1.896.-

MPHUW'LITHQWASHINGTON DC VNirian STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER L. YOUNGREN, OF TASIIINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHISI'IOLM, BOYD dt VHITE COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS.

BRICK-KILN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 556,295, dated March 10, 1896.

Application filed March 2, 1895. Serial No. 540.329. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: inforcing the direct draft in another com- Be it known that I, PETER. L. YOUNGREN, a partment; fourth, to provide means for desubject of the King of Sweden and Norway, fleeting the direct draft toward the outer residing at Washington, in the District of Cowalls of the compartments without the con- 5 5 5 lumbia,have invented a new and usefulBrickstruction of underground flues or draft-open- Kiln, of which the following is a specification. ings in or near the outer walls; fifth, to pro- This invention relates to that class of convideakiln of simple and durable construction, tinuous or perpetual brick-kilns in which the and which will be efficient and give satisfacoperations of water-smoking, burning, settory results. 6o io ting, and taking out the bricks are carried on To this end the kiln consists of the sundry simultaneously and continuously, the necesnovel arrangements of parts hereinafter more sary heat being produced partly by direct fully described and particularly pointed out iiring among the material in the kiln-compartin the claims, reference being had to the acments and partlyby firing in a supplementary companying drawings, in which- 65 I5 furnace. Figure 1 is a top view of the kiln with a In a similar prior invention for which a horizontal section of the supplementary furpatent was granted to me in the United States nace and of the smoke-stack on the line X X under date of April 3, 1894, No. 517,637, is of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a plan section of the imshown and described a supplementary furproved kiln on the line Y Y of Fig. 4. Fig. 3 7o 2o nace in combination with a main hot-air and is a vertical section on the line Z Z of Fig. 1,

heat iiue, for the purpose of reinforcing the on a larger scale. Fig. et is a vertical crossdirect draft through the kiln to prevent consection on the line X Y of Fig. 1, looking to densation and discoloring of the brick. In the left. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the the said patent the same main flue serves the central portion of the kiln on the line Z Y of 75 25 purpose of conveying hot air from the cooling Fig. 3, looking to the right. Fig. 6 is a verbrick as well as to convey the heat from the tical section similar to Fig. 5 on the line A A supplementary furnace to the various kilnof Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a cross-section on theline compartments. B B of Fig. 1. Fig. S is an enlarged view, in

The present invention provides a new arsection, showing the compensating joint be- 8o 3o rangement of flues, by the use of which the tween the covering and the kiln-walls before supplementary furnace is rendered more efthe firing takes place. Fig. 9 is a view of the feotive and its heat used independently of or parts shown in Fig. S after the firing and when in conjunction with the heat produced by the the covering has settled, due to the shrinkage direct firing. of the material in the kiln. 8 5 3 5 The principal objects of the present inven- The kiln consists of a continuous-burning tion are, first, to provide means for treating chamber 27a of oblong form, inclosed between one or more independent compartments with the central flue-walls 18 and the surrounding pure hot air simultaneously with treating perpendicular walls 19, and is adapted to be one or more independent compartments with divided, by means of temporary partitions 20, go

4o heat fromthesupplementary furnace; second, into a number of sub chambers or compartto provide means for thoroughly expelling the ments, the number of which will vary accordwater from the brick in independent coming to the size and the capacity of the kiln, partments before admitting them to the disixteen being shown and indicated by the rect draft through the kiln; third, to provide numbers 1 to 16, inclusive. 95 45 means for regulating the temperature of the In order to provide a kiln of simple and duheat-currents departing from the main heatrable construction and which will enable the flue, so that a portion of the heat generated work of setting and taking out the brick to in the supplementaryfurnace can' be used for be performed with greater ease, the sides of water-smoking in certain compartments at a the kiln-compartments are built perpendicuroo 5o low temperature simultaneously with using lar and closed at the top bya temporary cova portion of it at a higher temperature for reering which rests upon the brick after they are set. This covering consists of two or more courses of brick 21 and 22 laid ilatwise, with a dressing of clay or earth 23 on top. In this covering are formed feed openings 24 at proper distances apart for the introduction of fuel, and a hopper 25 having a cover 26 is placed over each of said feed-openin gs. This temporary covering is moved from time to time as the process of setting and taking out the bricks requires, being taken from a compartment of cool burned brick and placed over a compartment of newlyset brick. ln this manner the work of setting and removing the brick is facilitated by admitting plenty of air and light to the workmen in the empty colnpartments.

In the drawings is shown a kiln divided into sixteen compartments. Each compartment is provided with a separate ingress-fine 27 opening into the compartment at or near one end thereof and aseparate egress-flue 2S opening into the compartment at or near the opposite end of the compartment. Said ingress and egress .fines open into the compartment on the inner side near the iioor thereof. lt is preferred to locate the ingress and egress iiues a distance equal to the length of one or two bricks from the partitions 2O in order to pro tect-these latter, which are made from paper. Between the inner walls, 1S, constituting the inner sides of the compartments and in a horizontal plane above the aforementioned ingress and egress fiues are located the three main iues 29, 30, and 31. Centrally between the ends of these main fines is located the smokestack 32. The main iiuc 29 serves as a ma-in draft-flue,and for that purpose communicates with the stack 32 and is provided with damper-controlled communications with each of the compartment egressfines 28. It will be noticed that the main draft-flue 29 is provided with a lateral extension 34 at one end for the purpose of affording communication between the egress-iiue 28 of the compartment 9 and said main iiue. The central main flue 30 serves as a main hotair flue to facilitate the conduction of hot air from certain parts of the kiln to certain other parts, and for that purpose is provided with the upwardly-ex tending branch fines terminating at the top of the kiln, at which point they are provided with covers or seals 36. The said main iiue 30 is also provided with damper controlled communications 37 with each of the ingress-iues 27 lead ing into the kiln-compartments.

By removing the covers 26 over a series of the feed-hoppers 25 in the kilircovering and placing a suitable hood 3S over said openings and connecting said hood by means of a conveyer 39 with one of the branch flues 35 of the main hot-air iiue 30 communication is obtained between the tops of the kiln-compartments and the said main hot-air flue 30. This main hot-air iiue 30 pierces the base of the stack without connecting with the fiue thereof. (See Fig. G.)

The main flue 31 serves as a main heat-flue for conducting heat from the supplementary furnace 40 to any desired kiln-compartment, being in communication with the furnace through the downtake 41 and is provided with dampercontrolled commul'lications 42 with each of the ingressiiues 27 leading into the various kiln-compartments. It will be seen that the ingress-fines 27 afford communication with each of the main lues 30 and 31, and the egress-fines 2S have communication with the main flue 29. Each of the ingress-hues 2" is provided with an air inlet or passage 43 in communication with the outer atmosphere and with the said ingressdlue, said communication being controlled by a cover or seal 44. Immediately over the place where the downtake 41 enters the main heatflue 31 is formed an opening 45, extending from the top of the kiln into said main flue 3l, and a temporary seal 4G is placed over said opening 45. In the said main flue 31, under the aforesaid openin g 45 and extending part way therein, is placed an iron rod 47 in suoli a position that it can be observed by removing the cover 4G of the opening 45. By this means it can be .readily ascertained when the heat in the fine 31 is too great for the safety of the rods by means of which the various dampers are controlled, thereby enabling the heat to be controlled by regulatin the fire in the supplementary furnace 40.

The central kiln-body, forming the inside of the kiln-compartments, is enlarged at its ends, as shown at 48, for the purpose of deflecting the draft toward the outer walls of the end compartments and in some measure avoiding the short and direct course of the draft along the inner sides of the extremities immediately adjoining the side compartments. The advantages of this arrangement of fines and parts will be fully appreciated after the operation of the kiln is understood, which will be as follows: Assuming compartments 1 and 2 are empty for taking out the burned brick and setting in raw brick; compartments 3, 4, 5, G, 7 and 8 containing burned brick in various stages of cooling, from those entirely cool and ready to be taken out in compartment 3 to those white hot in compartment 8; compartments 9 and 10 are firing, fuel being introduced from the top through the feed-hoppers; compartments 11 and 12 are heating up preparatory to direct firing; compartments 13, 14 and 15 are water-smoking with furnace heat; and compartment 1G is heating up by hot air. All compartments containing brick are closed in by means of the temporary covering and have their dooropenings 49 sealed up. A paper curtain 2O is drawn across the end of compartment 1li, preventing the outer atmosphere from entering said colnpartment from the empty compartment 1. Similar curtains are placed at the end of each compartment after the bricks have been set.

Opposite each ingress and egress flue an IOO ICS

IIO

opening or flue is formed in the brick,`extending from inside to outside of the compartment, for the purpose of distributing the heat-currents across the compartment. The paper curtains above referred to are allowed to remain in position between the various compartments until the water-smoking is completed in each. In. Fig. 2 said curtains are assumed to remain between compartments 1 16, 16 l5, 15 14, 14 13, and 13 12. After the water-smoking is completed in a compartment the curtain is burned out by means of a torch. The egress-fines 28 in each of the compartments 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 are put in communication with the main draft-flue 29 by opening the corresponding draft-dampers The ingress-Iiues 27, leading into compartments 12, 13, 14, and l5, respectively, are putin communication with the main heatflue 31 by opening the corresponding dampers 42. The cold-air inlets 43, connecting the ingress-lines 27 of the compartments 13, 14, and 15, are put in communication with the outer atmosphere by opening the corresponding covers 44. The ingress-line 27 leading into compartment 16 is put in communication with the hot-air flue 30 by opening its damper. The hot-air conductor 39 with its hood 33 is placed so as to connect the top of compartment 6 with the main hot-air iiue 30. A fire is burning in the supplementary furnace 40 on top of the central kiln-body. It will now be seen that the outer atmosphere enters the empty compartments 1 and 2 and is drawn through the compartments containing the cooling bricks, and in its course becomes gradually heated and at the same time it cools off the burned bricks gradually. In the compartments 9 and 10 this hot air supports the combustion of the fuel introduced therein, and the products of combustion are then drawn forward through compartments 11 and 12,heating the bricks and preparing them for subsequent iiring. At the end of compartment 12 the products of combustion are drawn into the main flue 29 and escape through the smokestack. The ingress-flue 27 of compartment 12 is discharging a heat-current from the supplementary furnace into said compartment, which serves to reinforce the direct draft so as to heat up the bricks as rapidly as possible after the water-smoking is completed without forcing the direct draft through the cooling and burning compartments. The introduction of this supplementary heat-current into the inner side of the compartment also serves the purpose of deflecting the direct draft toward the outer Wall of the kiln-compartments, thus enabling a uniform distribution of the direct draft and the heat from the supplementary furnace without the construction of underground iiues or draft-channels in or near the outer walls.

Underground iiues are objectionable aside from being expensive to construct, because they are a source for the admission of moisture into the burning-compartments, being located below the general grade of kiln and surroundings.

In the present invention the ingress and egress flues are all located above the iioor of the kiln and make the shortest possible connection with a common chimney, and without the aid of the supplementary heat-current this inside draft would naturally advance the heat faster along the inside wall, which, of course, would be objectionable.

The supplementary heat-currents entering compartments 13, 14 and 15 are mingled with cold air after they leave the main heat-iiue and before entering the respective compartments, rendering them suitable for watersmoking purposes. It must be remembered that the temperature of the products of combustion emerging from the supplementary furnace is maintained at about the same degree as the temperature of the direct draft at the point where the supplementary current min gles with said direct draft in compartment 12. It will therefore be seen that while the same furnace and the same main flue serve to supply the various sub-currents entering the various compartments the temperature of each sub-current can be regulated to suit the requirement in each individual compartment, supplying currents of low temperature to the water-smoking compartments at the same time it supplies a current of a higher temperature to reinforce the direct draft where the water-smoking is completed and it is desired to heat up the bricks as rapidly as possible. While the process of water-smoking, burning, taking out and settingrawbrick is progressing, one compartment every day, the bricks water-smoking can be kept at the same temperature and under equal conditions for several days. This is of especial advantage in water-smoking dry-pressed brick, which, being very dense in structure, prevent a free escape of the vapor from their interior. Hence the vapor, if formed too rapidly by the application of heat, will expand and disintegrate the raw brick.

It is obvious that a prolonged method of water-smoking can be carried on to a certain extent with hot-air currents from the cooling bricks in other continuous kilns embodying a hot-air flue and branch flues connecting with the various kiln-compartments; but when an attempt is made in such kilns to draw sufiicient hot air from the cooling brick to supply several water-smoking sections, which, as stated, is necessary in the burning of drypressed brick, it is found that the temperature of the air passing directly into the burning-sections is reduced in proportion to the amount of heat withdrawn for water-smoking purposes, resulting in the withdrawal of the heat from the hot finished brick too rapidly, preventing a thorough annealing and necessitating a heavier firing in the burning-compartments in order to maintain the required temperature; and this heavy firing is objectionable, inasmuch as it produces a high local IOO IIO

heat in and around the fireplaces formed in the brick, overburning and destroying the product.

It is evident to any one experienced in the art that the higher the temperature of the feed-air can be maintained at the point where it passes from the hot finished brick into the burning-compartnient the better are the results. It is found in practice that bricks are discolored by sulphur and other impurities contained in the products of combustion and mixed with vapor of water in the waterl smoking compartments if allowed to condense among the bric-k, as by condensation these mixed gases are absorbed into the exposed surfaces of the bricks, giving them a permanent spotted, unsightly appearance. This discoloration occurs, more or less, when furnacegases are led into a compartment containing coal-brick, the extent of the discoloration depending upon the temperature and amount of water present in the brick as well as upon the amount of sulphur in the fuel. In many instances it is necessary to use wood or coke in water-smoking or heating a kiln of brick, coal being subsequently used in the burning, bccause such fuel is comparatively free from sulphur. To prevent this discoloration of the brick in the present invention the newly-set brick is iirst treated with pure hot air, withdrawing a small amount of heat from the cooling brick for that purpose. After the bricks have once been heated bythe pure hot air to the temperature desired for watersinoking the latter operation can be completed with furnace-heat without danger of diseoloring the brick if such f urnaee-heat is only passed through the brick the length of one compartment, as in the present invention. If the water-smoke was carried from one coinpartment into another any great distance, (a compartment in this type of kiln generally ranging in length from iifteen to twenty feet,) the capacity of the gases, products of combustion, or simply hot air for carrying moisture will be exhausted before reaching the exit and condensation would occur. It will be seen that in the present instance the preheating with pure hot air is taking place in compartment lo, the hot-air conductor $58 39 being placed so as to connect the top of compartment (i with the main heat-flue 30, and the ingress and egress iiues of compartment 1G being connected, respectively, with the hotair flue 30 and draft-liuc 29, a current of hot air is caused to pass from the top of compartment into the main hot-air flue 30, thence into and through said compartment lo' into the draft-flue 29.

lVhen placing the covering over a newlyset compartment, the upper course of brick 2l is not brought quite up to the furnacewalls and a brick 50 is placed in the space thus provided, the upper and lower sides of said brick being beveled upwardly and outwardly. The edges of this brick touch the furnace-walls and the edge of the course of brick 2l. Fig. 8 shows the position of this brick when the covering is first put on. During the burning and shrinking of the brick in the kiln it invariably occurs that the central portion of the kiln burns and settles ahead of the sides, causing the kiln-covering to part from the furnace-walls, as shown in Fig. 0, in which event the brick 50 is forced by its own gravity, assisted by the weight of the superincumbent earthy filling 23, tightly against the furnace-wall, preventing the cscape of the illing and entrance of cold air into the kiln.

Bricks and tiles of rectangular sectional form have been used heretofore for the same purpose as the brick 50 in the present case; but it is found that when such rectangular bricks or tiles are placed at a sufficient angle to cover the space formed between the furnace-wall and the kiln-covering the lateral pressure of the filling causes the lower edge of such rectangular brick or tile to move outward] y an d come il at against the furnace-wall. when its lower support (the course of brick 22) descends during the settling of the kiln, and in that position is retained more or less by the unevenness of the surfaces allowing the filling to escape underneath said brick during subsequent settling of the kiln. The brick 50 provided for this purpose is of such form that when placed in positionV its entire weight falls outside of the lower supportingedge, and that surface of the brick upon which the filling bears is nearer to the horizontal plane than that which passes through the extreme suliiporting-edges, causing the illin g to exert a downward and outward pressure on the upper supporting-edge, while the lower edge is entirely relieved from any outward pressure. A compensating joint ofthe character herein set forth will be provided for each side of the covering bordering upon the outer and the inner furnace-walls.

Itis obvious that in constructing a kiln cmbodyin the essence of the invention changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacriiicing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is l. In a continuously-operated kiln in which the bricks are burned by direct firing among the material, and which comprises independent compartments, a passage common to all the co 1n partments and havin g communication with each, a second passage also having communication with each compartn'lent, a supplementary furnace having communication with the said second passage, means for connecting the first passage with a compartment of burned and cooling brick, and with a compartment of newly-set brick to water-smoke the latter by pure hot air, damper-controlled passages for reinforcing this hot air by heat from the supplementary furnace, and a third passage having communication with the compartments and with the stack to carry o the vapors yresulting from the watersmoking, substantially as described.

2. In a continuous kiln having a series of compartments formed by temporary partitions of combustible material, a series of lines arranged in parallel relation, and having communication with each of the said compartments, one flue communicating with the smoke-stack and with the egress-fines of each compartment, a second fine adapted to be put in direct communication with a compartment of burned and cooling brick, and with a compartment of newly-set brick to supply the latter with pure hot air for purposes of Watersmoking, and a supplementary furnace in communication with the third-named line, whereby its heat can be utilized to reinforce the direct draft through the compartments containing the brick which have been watersmoked, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A continuous kiln oblong in plan elevation and having a series of compartments formed between an outer wall and an inner central portion, and having the latter portion enlarged and made circular at its ends, the

sides of the enlarged circular portions projecting beyond the walls of the said central portion to centralize the draft in the longitudinal compartments, substantially as set forth.

4. The herein-specifi ed continuous kiln ,having a series of separate compartments formed by temporary partitions of combustible material, a series of three iiues arranged in parallel relation, each iiue having direct communication with each of the said compartments by means of damper-controlled passages, one flue being in communication with the smokestack and with the egress-passages of the said compartments, the second flue being adapted to be put in communication with a compartment of burned and cooling brick, and with a compartment of newly-set brick to supply the latter with pure hot air, a supplementary furnace having communication with the third flue, and with the ingress-passages of the compartments by means of the said flue, vertical openings having communication with the ingress-passages to temper the air from the supplementary furnace before it enters a desired compartment, and a metal rod located in the downdraft-passage of the supplementary furnace for the purpose of determining the heat from the supplementary furnace, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a continuons kiln having a series of compartments, and having a central kilnbody provided with main iiues above the kilnfloor, one flue being in communication with the stack, a supplementary furnace in communication with a second flue, ingress-fines, or passages, communicating with the said second flue and with one end of the kiln-compartments' 'thron gh the wall of the central kilnbody to deflect the direct draft outward, and

egress-fines, or passages, communicating with the stack-line and with the opposite end of the said compartments, all of the said flues being above the ground-floor of the kiln, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiiXed my signature in Vthe presence of two witnesses.

PETER L. YOUNGREN.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERs, E. G. SIGGERS. 

